China-US: Relations fray between the two superpowers

The US has imposed sanctions on Chinese officials it says are committing human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet.

The combative language between China and the United States has continued in recent days, as relations between the two superpowers deteriorate.

It has been a challenging few months for Beijing, where it has been criticised for a Hong Kong security law, and faced resistance on the use of Huawei’s technology.

Al Jazeera’s Katrina Yu explains.

Azerbaijani foreign minister sacked amid tension with Armenia

Azerbaijan and Armenia accuse each other of shelling military positions and villages.

Azerbaijan’s foreign minister has been fired over what the president calls “meaningless negotiations” with neighbouring Armenia.

Fighting on the border over disputed territory has started again after a brief ceasefire.

At least 16 soldiers and one civilian have been killed.

Al Jazeera’s Robin Forrestier-Walker reports.

Zimbabwe Accuses Biggest Mobile Phone Firm of Money Laundering

Zimbabwe’s police have accused Econet Wireless Ltd., the country’s dominant mobile phone company, of money laundering, demanded a list of its subscribers and issued a search warrant against it.

The move escalates a clash between the government and company whose money transfer service facilitates the bulk of transactions in the southern African country. The government says its activities are contributing to the rapid depreciation of the national currency.

In an order against the company, the police accused the company of creating fictitious mobile money, converting it to cash and then buying foreign currency on the black market before sending it out the country.

On June 26 the country banned most of those transactions and has now said it plans to force Econet’s Ecocash unit to use a government-run money-transfer platform.

Calls to Econet’s spokesman, Fungai Mandiveyi, weren’t answered.

— With assistance by Antony Sguazzin

Greatest Increase Ever in U.S. Wages Is Actually Horrible News

The median weekly earnings of full-time workers in America jumped more than 10% in second quarter from a year earlier, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.

The data marks the largest increase in the four decades that the agency has tracked it but is skewed by a more sobering reality: massive job losses among lower-wage workers.

“The unusually large increase in median weekly earnings in the second quarter reflects the fact that employment declined more for lower-paid workers than for higher-paid workers,” the report noted.

The trend first started to become clear in labor-market data in April, after businesses across the U.S. shuttered to stem the spread of the virus, putting millions out of work. It’s become more pronounced since.

Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 104.5 million full-time salaried workers surpassed $1,000 for the first time as of June 30, according to the report.

In essence, workers at the lower end of the wage scale –including retail and restaurant staff — lost a disproportionate number of jobs during the Covid-induced business closures. That pushed up average hourly pay for those left working.

By race, Asians working at full-time jobs earned the most at $1,336, followed by Whites, who made $200 a week more than Blacks. Median weekly earnings of Hispanics were lowest at $786.

Here's what happened to the stock market on Friday

The Dow slid 62.76 points, or 0.23%, to 26,671.95. The S&P 500 gained 0.28% to 3,224.73. The Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.28% to 10,503.19. The major averages posted a muted performance as a decline in Netflix weighed on major tech stocks.

Netflix drops after earnings

Netflix reported second-quarter earnings that missed analyst expectations, pushing the stock down 6.52%. The company's weak guidance for third-quarter subscriber growth — a key metric for the streaming giant — also contributed to the steep sell-off in the stock. Shares of other major tech companies also struggled. Amazon pulled back by 1.26%. Microsoft dipped 0.51% and Apple slid 0.20%.

U.S. coronavirus cases surge at record pace

The U.S. reported 77,200 coronavirus cases on Thursday, a record, according to Johns Hopkins University. That spike brought the total number of confirmed U.S. infections to more than 3.57 million. Covid-related deaths are up to more than 138,000. "There's definitely a sense of nervousness in the market," said one trader.

What happens next?

Earnings season continues next week with IBM, Coca-Cola and Microsoft, among others, set to report.

Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world.

Brazil considering allowing citizens to withdraw from pension funds early

BRASILIA, July 17 (Reuters) – Brazil’s Treasury Secretary Roberto Funchal said on Friday that the government is analyzing the possibility of allowing Brazilians to withdraw money from their pension funds early, as an emergency measure amid the coronavirus crisis.

The measure has been allowed in Peru and is currently being discussed in Chile. (Reporting by Marcela Ayres Editing by Chris Reese)

Amazon stock had its worst week since February

• Amazon posted its fifth straight day of losses Friday.
• It was the worst week for the stock since February. 
• Amazon shares still are up 60% year to date. 

Amazon posted its fifth straight day of losses Friday, making it the worst week for the stock since late February. 

Shares traded 1.26% lower on Friday, and closed down 7.44% for the week. Heading into the week, Amazon had posted 10 straight weeks of gains, its longest weekly winning streak in history.

Amazon has been one of the strongest performers during Covid-19 pandemic, as people increasingly turn to online shopping in the face of retail closures and shelter-in-place orders. Many companies also increased their reliance on cloud computing providers, including Amazon's highly lucrative Amazon Web Services unit, as overall online activity increased.

Amazon shares still are up 60% year to date, as of Friday's close.  

Shares of other major tech companies also struggled this week, as shares of Facebook, Alphabet and Microsoft all finished down for the week. In addition, Netflix shares dropped more than 6% on Friday after the company reported weaker-than-expected guidance on new subscribers. 

Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube.